New Film Shows Sharks Aren't Safe In the Water

Published September 6th, 2007

Canadian filmmaker, Rob Stewart, is making waves across the globe with his story of the deep seas to students here. the film is called "sharkwater." The wildlife photojournalist turned biologist wanted the world to know that sharks are dying in great numbers.

When Stewart, then just 22-years, old set out to take pictures of sharks, off the the Galapagos islands, he had no idea that his journey would last five years, take him across the world. What he found was shocking, "All I found were 160 sharks dead and dying on illegally set long lines and it opened my eyes to the fact that sharks were being killed even on the most protected marine reserves on the planet," says Stewart.

And on Wednesday, students at the Oak Hall were greeted by an infamous sea creature as they filed into the auditorium today. They were there to hear to the tales of the young filmmaker, now 27 years old, whose film on the demise of shark populations is making a splash across the world.

University of Florida shark expert, George Burgess says that the main reason is overfishing. Their fins, he says, command from $25 to $35 a pound.

"The world as we know it would change greatly without the sharks in the sea," says Burgess.

Sharks, like humans, only give birth a few times in their lifetime. Their gestation period can be a long as two years, so Burgess says, it would take decades to get their numbers back up.